Centenary of the first shot at sea marked by Royal Navy museum

ONE hundred years after the first shot was fired at sea in the First World War, the National Museum of the Royal Navy will mark the centenary with a sail-past.

The Royal Navy’s Portsmouth-based patrol vessel HMS Mersey will sail past the Royal Yacht Squadron during the Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week.

On August 5, a single cannon will be fired from the squadron at 10am and spectators and competitors will join together for a one minute silence in memory of all those who served in defence of the nation.

A further cannon will mark the end of the silence.

Professor Dominic Tweddle, the director general of the Portsmouth-based National Museum of the Royal Navy, said: ‘The Royal Navy will join with us in marking this sombre and thought-provoking ceremony in a time-honoured fashion.’